The Exam Will Be 50% Multiple Choice, 40% Short Answer, And 10% Remembering Our Secret Handshake When You Turn It In

As I’m sure you all know, your midterm is coming up next Thursday. It will cover everything from lectures 11 through 20, up to and including gender socialization in schools. You can find the slides on Canvas, alongside the step-by-step instructions to the secret handshake we all earned at the beginning of the year.

As a quick refresher, the handshake, if executed correctly, should take about fifteen seconds to complete. It will consist of three distinct phases with a brief, two second intermission between phases two and three. Phase one is the traditional pop it, lock it, and drop it, followed by an exact recreation of the handshake in 1998’s The Parent Trap for phase two.

Phase three is by far the most difficult and is usually the part where students start to lose points. I don’t want to give the answer away but just as a heads up, it starts by us walking five paces away from each other and then, on the count of three, we run at each other at full speed and perform a double hi- five in mid-air. When we land, I will sheathe an imaginary katana, at which point you will collapse to the ground. Then, while looking over your fake dead corpse, I will extend my hand, to which you will rise from the dead, grab my hand, jump up, and engage with me in one final shake.

I noticed from the last exam that a lot of you felt the need to snap after the handshake was done. Let me assure you that this is completely unnecessary. Sometimes less is more. is handshake is a work of art and adding that extra snap is like adding another brush stroke on a Picasso. I didn’t mark any of you down for it last time, but don’t expect to be so lucky next time around.

Remember that this handshake is not only the difference between an A and a B, but it’s also the only part of the job I’m still passionate about. I’m giving you all the tools you need to do well on this exam, it’s your choice whether or not to use them.